Whakamaru Power Station is a
hydroelectric power station on the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the fourth hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River.
Lake Whakamaru is one of the larger hydro reservoirs on the Waikato river. The power station is owned and operated by
Mercury Energy
Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is Renewable energy, renewable.
In August 2021 ...
. The adjacent Whakamaru switching station is operated by
Transpower and is one of eight reference nodes on the
New Zealand national grid.
History
Development work started in 1949 with the construction on of road from
Mangakino
Mangakino is a small town on the banks of the Waikato River in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the hydroelectric power station at Lake Maraetai, southeast of Hamilton. The town and its infrastructure are administered as ...
which at the time was the operational centre of the Waikato hydroelectric scheme.
Firstly a
diversion channel long, deep and wide was built taking 3 years to complete.
The foundation rock turned out to be deeply cracked and filled with clays rendering it partially porous. Shafts were sunk into the rock and this allowed the clay to be cleared and cement grout was later forced into the rock which was then back-filled with concrete.
Transmission
Whakamaru is a major node in the
North Island electricity grid. Electricity generated by Whakamaru and the other five Waikato hydroelectric power stations, and the geothermal power stations in the area, converges at the Whakamaru substation on the western side of the dam. It is transmitted from there via 220 kV lines to the
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
,
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...
,
Manawatu and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
. The largest transmission route is to New Zealand's largest city,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
, approximately to the north – three 220 kV circuits connect Whakamaru to Otahuhu in southern Auckland, with an additional circuit serving Otahuhu via Hamilton.
The main control centre for the electricity generation and transmission system for the entire North Island was established at Whakamaru in 1964. The facility continued to operate as the North Island System Control Centre until a replacement facility was established at Hamilton in 1992.
In 2010–2012 the
Whakamaru to Brownhill Road transmission line, a major line, was constructed to Brownhill Road, close to the south Auckland urban boundary. This reinforced supply lines to Auckland and allowed for the large amount of new geothermal generation that was expected in the Taupo region over the following 5–7 years. A separate switching station, designated Whakamaru North, was built approximately from the current substation as the terminal station for the new line, with short tie-lines connecting to the existing substation.
Refurbishment
In 2013 a refurbishment project was begun to refurbish the turbines and generators. The first equipment arrived at site in 2016 and was installed and commissioned on the first unit in 2017. The generator replacement parts were supplied by GE Renewables. The new turbine components were supplied by Andritz Hydro. By 2020, all units had been refurbished and the total generation capacity increased from 100 MW to 124 MW.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{Waikato River dams
Energy infrastructure completed in 1949
Energy infrastructure completed in 1956
Hydroelectric power stations in New Zealand
Buildings and structures in Waikato
Waikato River
Dams in New Zealand